Flying disk toys, most commonly known and referred to by the registered trademark, "Frisbee", owned by the Wham-O Manufacturing Company of California, have enjoyed great commercial popularity throughout the years. Flying disks, or "Frisbees", have been used as recreational toys, in contests, and in competitive sports. Many different sizes, shapes, colors and designs have been employed in making flying disk toys.
Flying disk toys have also been proposed which generate either light or sound or both while the toy is in flight. A variety of different designs have been proposed to generate either signal from the flying disk. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,011,813 to Heekin, discloses a flying disk toy with sound-producing members affixed to the outer periphery of the disk. The sound-producing members include vibrating wind reeds similar to those used in mouth harmonicas, which produce sound by the wind resistance produced during the flight of the toy. Funnel-shaped structures affixed to the reeds direct streams of air through the reeds during the flight of the toy. Heekin also discloses a flying disk with an illuminating device wherein a battery is connected to a small light bulb. The electrical connection between the light bulb and the battery is manually switched on before the disk is thrown and remains on continuously until manually switched off.
Centrifugally actuated light and noise generators have also been employed on flying disks to activate the desired signals while the flying disk is rotating during flight. U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,839 to Sampietro discloses a flying disk wherein centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the disk in flight forces the battery of the signal generator to contact a light bulb, thereby completing the electrical circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,834 to Samuel discloses a disk-shaped directional toy having a centrifugal switch in connection with an audio or visual signaling device. The centrifugal switch has a weak, spring-biased switch arm which is forced outwardly by centrifugal force to engage the signaling device, thereby closing the electrical circuit between the signaling device and the power source.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,935,669 and 4,043,076 both to Potrzuski et al. disclose objects which generate audio or visual signals only while rotating as the result of the closure of four centrifugal switches. Potrzuski discloses three kinds of centrifugal switches: a mercury switch, a rolling ball switch, and a sliding element switch. With respect to the latter two disclosed switches, Potrzuski teaches that moving conductive elements contact the electrical contacts of the centrifugal switch only when the toy is rotated about a central axis. This contact permits electric current to flow between the contacts and the audio or visual device. However, Potrzuski's switches are mounted directly on the periphery of the toy and often interfere with its operation. Since the centrifugal switches are attached to the bottom of the disk, gripping and throwing the disk are difficult for the user. Also, due to the complexity of the electrical connection involved with Potrzuski's switches, the toy is limited to only the audio or visual signaling device with which it is manufactured. Replacement of the audio or visual signaling device is difficult employing this type of embodiment.